Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to the Yadava clan of Chandravamsa lineage.
The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Muslim invasions by the end of the 13th century. At its peak in the early 16th century under Krishnadevaraya, it subjugated almost all of Southern India's ruling dynasties and pushed the Deccan sultanates beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna River doab region, in addition to annexing the Gajapati Empire up to the Krishna River, becoming one of the most prominent states in India. The empire's territory covered most of the lands of the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and some parts of Telangana, Maharashtra and Kerala.
The empire lasted until 1646, although its power declined greatly after a major military defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara whose extensive ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka. The wealth and fame of the empire inspired visits by and writings of medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Niccolò de' Conti. These travelogues, contemporary literature and epigraphy in the local languages, and modern archeological excavations at Vijayanagara have provided ample information about the history and power of the empire.
The empire's legacy includes monuments spread over Southern India, the best known of which is the group at Hampi. Different temple building traditions in South and Central India were merged into the Vijayanagara architectural style. This synthesis inspired architectural innovations in the construction of Hindu temples. Efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new technologies to the region such as water management systems for irrigation. The empire's patronage enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Sanskrit with topics such as astronomy, mathematics, medicine, fiction, musicology, historiography and theater gaining popularity. The classical music of Southern India, Carnatic music, evolved into its current form. The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in the history of Southern India that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as an unifying factor.
Name
'Vijaynagar' translates to 'City of Victory'.Karnata Rajya was another name for the Vijayanagara Empire, used in some inscriptions and literary works of the Vijayanagara times including the Sanskrit work Jambavati Kalyanam by Emperor Krishnadevaraya and Telugu work Vasu Charitamu.
Europeans referred to the Vijayanagara Empire as "The Kingdom of Narasinga". a name derived from "Narasimha" by the Portuguese. It is not clear whether the name was derived from Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya or Narasimha Raya II.
History
Background and origin theories
Before the early 14th-century rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Hindu states of the Deccan – the Yadava Empire of Devagiri, the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, and the Pandyan Empire of Madurai – were repeatedly raided and attacked by Muslims from the north. By 1336 the upper Deccan region had been defeated by armies of Sultan Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate.Further south in the Deccan region, Hoysala commander, Singeya Nayaka-III, declared independence after the Muslim forces of the Delhi Sultanate defeated and captured the territories of the Yadava Empire in 1294. He created the Kampili kingdom near Gulbarga and Tungabhadra River in the northeastern parts of present-day Karnataka state. The kingdom collapsed after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate and upon their defeat, the populace committed a jauhar in. The Vijayanagara Kingdom was founded in 1336 as a successor to the hitherto prosperous Hindu kingdoms of the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas, and the Yadavas with the breakaway Kampili Kingdom adding a new dimension to the resistance to the Muslim invasion of South India.
Two theories have been proposed regarding the ethnolinguistic origins of the Vijayanagara Empire. One is that Harihara I and Bukka I, the founders of the empire, were Kannadigas and commanders in the army of the Hoysala Empire stationed in the Tungabhadra region to ward off Muslim invasions from Northern India. Another theory is that Harihara and Bukkaraya were Telugu people, first associated with the Kakatiya Kingdom, who took control of the northern parts of the Hoysala Empire during its decline. They were believed to have been captured by the army of Muhammad bin Tughluq at Warangal. According to tradition, the founders were supported and inspired by Vidyaranya, a saint at the Sringeri monastery, to fight the Muslim invasion of South India, but the role of Vidyaranya in the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire is not certain.
Early years
In the first two decades after the founding of the empire, Harihara I gained control over most of the area south of the Tungabhadra River and earned the title of "master of the eastern and western seas". By 1374 Bukka Raya I, successor to Harihara I, defeated the chiefdom of Arcot, the Reddys of Kondavidu, and the Sultan of Madurai, and had gained control over Goa in the west and the Tungabhadra-Krishna River doab in the north. The original capital of the empire was in the principality of Anegondi on the northern banks of the Tungabhadra River in today's Karnataka. It was moved to Vijayanagara during Bukka Raya I's reign because it was easier to defend against the Muslim armies, who were persistently attacking from the northern lands.With the Vijayanagara Empire now imperial in stature, Harihara II, the second son of Bukka Raya I, further consolidated the empire beyond the Krishna River and South India was controlled by the Vijayanagara Empire. The next ruler, Deva Raya I, was successful against the Gajapatis of Odisha and undertook works of fortification and irrigation. Firuz Bahmani of Bahmani Sultanate entered into a treaty with Deva Raya I in 1407 that required the latter to pay Bahmani an annual tribute of "100,000 huns, five maunds of pearls and fifty elephants". The Sultanate invaded Vijayanagara in 1417 when the latter defaulted in paying the tribute. Such wars for tribute payment by Vijayanagara were repeated in the 15th century.
Deva Raya II succeeded to the throne in 1424. He was possibly the most successful of the Sangama Dynasty rulers. He quelled rebelling feudal lords and the Zamorin of Calicut and Quilon in the south. He invaded Sri Lanka and became overlord of the kings of Burma at Pegu and Tanasserim. By 1436 the rebellious chiefs of Kondavidu and the Velama rulers were successfully dealt with and had to accept Vijayanagara overlordship. After a few years of tranquility, wars broke out with the Bahmani Sultanate in 1443 with some successes and some reversals. The Persian visitor Firishta attributes Deva Raya II's war preparations, which included augmenting his armies with Muslim archers and cavalry, to be the cause of the conflict. Contemporary Persian ambassador Abdur Razzak attributes the war to the Bahmani Sultan capitalizing on the confusion caused by an internal revolt within the Vijayanagara Empire, including an attempt to assassinate the Raya by his brother.
Deva Raya II was succeeded by his elder son Mallikarjuna Raya in 1446. The Gajapati emperor removed the Vijayanagara control over the Tamil country by occupying the Reddi kingdoms of Rajahmundry, Kondaveedu, Kanchipuram, and Tiruchirapalli. These defeats reduced the Vijayanagara Empire's prestige, described by an inscription which described the Gajapati king as "a yawning lion to the sheep of the Karnatak King". Mallikarjuna's successor Virupaksha Raya II led a life of pleasure perusing wine and women leading to the loss of Goa and much of Karnataka to the Bahmani Sultanate. His governor Saluva Narasimha reduced the loss of territory by holding almost all of coastal Andhra Pradesh south of the Krishna river, Chittoor, the two Arcots and Kolar. Saluva Narashimha defeated the Gajapatis and held Udayagiri, drove out the Pandyas from Tanjore, and took procession of Machilipatnam and Kondaveedu. He later defeated Bahmani forces and recovered most of the empire's earlier losses.
After the death of Virupaksha Raya II in 1485, Saluva Narasimha led a coup that ended the dynastic rule while continuing to defend the empire from raids by the Sultanates created from the continuing disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate in its north. Saluva Narasimha left his two adolescent sons under the care of general Tuluva Narasa Nayaka who ably defended the empire from their traditional enemies, the Gajapati king and the Bahmani Sultan. He also subdued rebelling chiefs of the Chera, the Chola and the Pandya territories. Despite many attempts by nobles and members of the royal family to overthrow him, Narasa Nayaka retained control as regent till 1503.
In 1503, Narasa Nayaka's son Vira Narasimha had prince Immadi Narasimha of the Saluva dynasty assassinated and took over the rule in a coup thus becoming the first of the Tuluva dynasty rulers. This did not go well with the nobles who revolted. Seeing internal troubles grow, the Gajapati king and the Bahmani Sultan began to encroach on the empire even as the governors of Ummattur, Adoni, and Talakad colluded to capture the Tungabhadra-Krishna river doab region from the empire. The empire came under the rule of Krishna Deva Raya in 1509, another son of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. Initially Krishnadevaraya faced many obstacles including dissatisfied nobles, the rebellious chief of Ummattur in the south, a resurgent Gajapati kingdom under King Prataparudra, a growing threat from the newly formed Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur under Yusuf Adil Khan and Portuguese interest in controlling the west coast. Not one to be unnerved by these pressures he strengthened and consolidated the empire, one victory at a time. He was an astute ruler who hired both Hindus and Muslims into his army. In the following decades, the empire covered Southern India and successfully defeated invasions from the five established Deccan sultanates to its north.